Leek pudding is a traditional dish of stewed leeks encased in suet pastry and steamed. It originates in the North East of England, just like my mum, who absolutely despises it. She tells me about her mother creating a sloppy flavourless mess of a dish through looks of actual revulsion, which if I am honest is probably a bit dramatic. I believe suet puddings and dumplings are the crown jewel of British cuisine and they don’t get used or appreciated enough, so I have always wanted to make a version that my mum might actually like.
One evening whilst mindlessly scrolling the internet at 2am I came across Pailin from Pailins Kitchen making gui chai tod, a Thai chive dumpling made with rice flour. Unlike most Thai food gui chai tod is rather plain. You make the mix, steam it, slice into bite sized pieces and then fry it, to give it a crispy coating. It immediately struck me how similar it was to leek pudding and how the thing missing from leek pudding was texture (and perhaps in my grandmas case also flavour). It seemed a fitting remedy to my grandmas version, as although she wasn’t much of a cook, the woman knew how to fry food.
These turned out really well, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They make a great little snack which I’d recommend serving with some sort of flavourful sauce, I’ve gone with a Worcestershire sauce chili oil or they also work well as a side to a roast dinner.
EQUIPMENT
18.5×18.5cm square cake pan – larger pan for steaming or a roasting pan works – frying pan
LEEK PUDDING:
1 large leek
3 small cloves garlic, minced
100g suet
200g flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp neutral oil
oil for frying
CHILI OIL:
1 shallot
6 Thai red chili
2 large garlic cloves
3 medium ripe tomatoes
30ml Worcestershire sauce
75ml neutral oil
salt, brown sugar & MSG to season
CHILI OIL
Add to a food processor or finely dice shallot, chili, garlic, tomatoes
Add shallot, chili, garlic, tomatoes, oil and Worcestershire sauce to a pan. Cook over a medium/low heat till the ingredients have dehydrated and become jammy, around 30 minutes. stir occasionally
LEEK PUDDING
Thinly slice leek and wash thoroughly. dry as much as possible
Add minced garlic, oil, white pepper, salt & sugar to the leeks and let sit for 20 minutes
In a separate bowl add the suet and flour. rub together to break up the suet until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add baking powder and mix. Then add the leek mixture and stir together.
Add water till a loose sticky dough forms
Brush oil onto your baking pan and add the mixture. Add to your *steamer and cook for 30 minutes. Check it is cooked through using a cake tester in the centre, cook for a few more minutes if needed
Let pudding cool then cut into squares.
heat a generous layer of oil in a frying pan. then lightly fry on each side till crispy
Serve straight away with the chili oil
*if you don’t have a steamer you can put a deep roasting tin on the hob with some boiling hot water. Add a wire rack or a couple upside down ramekins. Place the pudding on top and then wrap tightly with foil.
